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Don't waste life

danielflopes.com

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Re: Don't waste life

#21

Post by pachydermic »

bsirkia wrote: post #9

All true ideas, none particularly helpful. No one reads this and thinks: "Wait, I can be happier if I work on something I'm passionate about and get paid for it?! I had no idea!" The problem is that its really hard to 1) identify what passions you have, 2) filter those by which you want to pursue for the rest of your life and 3) figure out a way to make money on that passion. Most people I know my age (mid 20's) are…

I think a lot of people our age are just happy to have a job in the first place. Young people are flocking to big cities (especially the Bay area, NYNY and DC) just to get anything. I feel really lucky to have the nice "real" job I have now, and given a lot of what's going on right now I don't think it's realistic or responsible to expect that even your job will be balls to the wall awesome. I mean... presumably they're paying you for a reason, right?

Of course, I agree with the sentiment as you do. Just pointing out that there are difficulties in trying to make this happen in addition to the three problems you mentioned.

Re: Don't waste life

#22

Post by debacle »

EC1 wrote: post #18
jvehent wrote: post #3

I saved 15 minutes by not reading this blog post :)

Why do you come into threads and make comments like this? Genuinely curious. Do you have something against the author or..?

Because some people are of the opinion that there is entirely too much of this fluff on HN, myself included.

Re: Don't waste life

#23

Post by [deleted] »

onion2k wrote: post #12

If your working time is spent doing something you don't really enjoy that sucks, obviously. It'd be great if we could all spend our lives doing creative, enjoyable things. Realistically though, if your work facilitates a happy life outside of your job then it could still be well be worth it - my parents have led full, happy lives (or so they tell me) raising their kids, doing their hobbies, seeing their friends, and…

[deleted]

Re: Don't waste life

#24

Post by abledon »

a3voices wrote: post #17
grouphugs wrote: post #4

I like the idea of the article. However, I don't think you understand free will or the idea of choice. Not everyone gets to have this perfect little say in what they want to do.

Free will doesn't exist anyways. Your brain is deterministic like a biological calculator.

I'm not so sure...

http://thebaffler.com/past/whats_the_point_if_we_cant_have_f...

Re: Don't waste life

#25

Post by EC1 »

onion2k wrote: post #12

If your working time is spent doing something you don't really enjoy that sucks, obviously. It'd be great if we could all spend our lives doing creative, enjoyable things. Realistically though, if your work facilitates a happy life outside of your job then it could still be well be worth it - my parents have led full, happy lives (or so they tell me) raising their kids, doing their hobbies, seeing their friends, and…

>The expectation that you can carve out a lifestyle where everything is worthwhile is unrealistic, and while a few outliers might actually achieve it, most people aren't going manage to get anything like that.

I've managed it, but it's taken a lot of hard work. I finally have enough money from side projects and clients to quit my job and go full time. I have a few friends who are also looking for work and to quit their jobs, so when I quit, I'm going to join my developers office (they have an office for free in a building their parents own). My few friends are going to live with my in my apartment and we're going full steam. Right now I work between 90 - max 110 hours a week. If I'm not @ work, I'm managing clients and juggling multiple projects, while doing UI for all of them.

I almost have a sweet professional portfolio online, and the moment I do, I'm quitting.

It's taken a lot of time and sacrifice but it's worth it and definitely doable. Also, being 20 years old, no debt, no GF, no obligations makes this infinitely easier.

Re: Don't waste life

#27

Post by bsirkia »

pachydermic wrote: post #21
bsirkia wrote: post #9

All true ideas, none particularly helpful. No one reads this and thinks: "Wait, I can be happier if I work on something I'm passionate about and get paid for it?! I had no idea!" The problem is that its really hard to 1) identify what passions you have, 2) filter those by which you want to pursue for the rest of your life and 3) figure out a way to make money on that passion. Most people I know my age (mid 20's) are…

I think a lot of people our age are just happy to have a job in the first place. Young people are flocking to big cities (especially the Bay area, NYNY and DC) just to get anything. I feel really lucky to have the nice "real" job I have now, and given a lot of what's going on right now I don't think it's realistic or responsible to expect that even your job will be balls to the wall awesome. I mean... presumably they…

Right, I think it's worth it to take a job that pays you, and you can use that money to develop your passions.

Re: Don't waste life

#28

Post by steven777400 »

Another issue is balancing great passion with higher cost. For example, I quit a previous job (that I had some passion about) for my current job, which is ... ok ... but pays twice as much.

As a result, I'm able to fly more, which is something I'm very passionate about.

Sometimes hobbies that we're very passionate about can also be very expensive. There's ways to reduce cost, but in the end, sometimes the best way to have more opportunities to enjoy that passion is to take more "non-passionate" hours that generate the funds.

I'm not saying my choice was right or will always be right. I still struggle with it. I guess the point is, optimizing for happiness is not as simple as it appears, especially for someone who is not independently wealthy.

Re: Don't waste life

#29

Post by bshimmin »

debacle wrote: post #22
EC1 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you come into threads and make comments like this? Genuinely curious. Do you have something against the author or..?

Because some people are of the opinion that there is entirely too much of this fluff on HN, myself included.

Some day I'm going to go into a pub, strike up a conversation with a stranger, and when they inevitably ask me what I do, I'll say, "Why, thank you for asking! I write about optimising our lives for happiness, integrity, and success."

And then I'll hope that they murder me.

Re: Don't waste life

#30

Post by luckyno13 »

If everyone followed this guy's advice, I feel like we would all be pumping our own shit and serving our own food when we go out for dinner. I guess we would be more well rounded individuals huh?
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